Humanities in Action: Cultural-Heritage

In this edition of Humanities in Action, we are exploring projects that preserve and amplify cultural heritage through archives, exhibitions, and performances. Practices like these help document and maintain customs, rituals, and histories within communities, and present opportunities for a greater understanding of the communities that make this state home. These three projects showcase different preservation practices and emphasize the importance of community identity and shared knowledge.  

We are highlighting the Wanderground Lesbian Archive’s Exploring the Archives: Sharing Stories/Building Connections, Capeverdean American Community Development’s Recuperating History through Dance: A Rhode Island Story of Cape Verde, and Stages of Freedom’s Black Ink on White Paper: The African American Press in Rhode Island.

Read more about this month’s featured projects focused on cultural heritage below and follow the series on social media as well @rihumanities on Instagram and Facebook.

Black Ink on White Paper: The African American Press in Rhode Island by Stages of Freedom

Stages of Freedom received a major grant in 2022 to support their Black Ink on White Paper: The African American Press in Rhode Island project. This project explored the rich and virtually unknown history of Black Rhode Islanders and print media. The touring exhibit featured photographs, newspaper articles, and other historical documents that showcased the variety of contributions to the media landscape from African Americans. After the Rhode Island Historical Society’s Aldrich House hosted the exhibition’s opening, the exhibit was shown at the Redwood Library and Athenaeum, Providence City Hall, and Stages of Freedom African American Museum.

The project yielded a variety of digital products that are accessible to the public. The opening reception included a lively panel discussion featuring Dr. Stanley Lemon, available for viewing here. Stages of Freedom also published a special edition of their newspaper, the Stages of Freedom Gazette, which is accessible here. You can also read more about some of the Black reporters and media people who were studied as part of this project on their website here.

Exploring the Archives: Sharing Stories/Building Connections by Wanderground Lesbian Archive 

In 2024, the Wanderground Lesbian Archive received a major grant from Rhode Island Humanities to support a series of exhibits, workshops, community conversations, recordings of oral herstories, and more. The funds also supported the creation of the digital archive and the documentation of the project’s  physical and digital outputs. As a result of the workshops and oral story submissions, Wanderground was able to exhibit parts of the archive at the Providence Public Library and provide digital access to the archive indefinitely. Today, the archive and catalog continue to grow and represents a range of Lesbians’ lives and experiences through art, artifacts, books, pamphlets, music, clothing, periodicals, films, photos, and oral histories. 

Explore the archive here and the digital curator guide here.

Recuperating History through Dance: A Rhode Island Story of Cape Verde by Capeverdean American Community Development

In 2022, Capeverdean American Community Development (CACD) received a major grant to host seven courses, teaching participants Cape Verdean history and connection to the Transatlantic Slave Trade, through lectures, presentations, and dance. Students were exposed to different dance styles and how they connect to Cape Verdean culture and significant historical moments. Originally proposed as a teen program, growing community interest in the course caused CACD to expand its intended audience. Classes were made up of children, teens, and adults with both Cape Verdean and non-Cape Verdean backgrounds. The varying identities encouraged meaningful and complex discussions throughout the lessons, allowing participants to learn from each other as well as the teacher.  After the sessions, these lessons were brought to the community through three historical dance performances at venues across Rhode Island.

Below are more photos of the dance courses along with the Cape Verdean Traditional Dance History Booklet. 

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This monthly Humanities in Action series is curated by Julia Aguiar, Grants and Humanities Initiatives Coordinator, & Isabella Robinson, Development and Engagement Coordinator.